In recent years, mobile wireless communications have become increasingly popular. Initial implementations of mobile wireless communications, for example in the form of cellular telephone networks, supported circuit switched voice communication services. The carriers developed short message service (SMS) technology to provide text and/or e-mail communications via the wireless communication networks. As the public wireless communication networks have evolved to provide greater bandwidth and packet based services, the industry has developed a variety of data services, such as web browsing, as well as a variety of services using multimedia message service (MMS) technology.
Wireless packet data communication is being provided with ever increasing transmission speed. The packet data communication allows mobile station users to expand the scope of their use of the mobile station: for example, to enjoy multimedia services at a speed comparable to those enjoyed via Internet connected personal computers (PCs).
As the packet data communication has become prevalent, multiple forms of payment for networked data communication services have evolved. Multiple account options with varying amounts of data usage, call time, and bandwidth allowable are available as postpaid, and prepaid communications services. Prepaid data service, in which a customer or subscriber has fixed availability of usage of a resource, is becoming as popular as postpaid options. Such accounts now encompass a vast majority of mobile wireless communications. Using the example of a prepaid wireless service, the customer may purchase discrete blocks of time or amounts of data for making voice telephone calls or data communication via a cellular telephone network; or, the customer may alternatively use a postpaid model in which a fixed fee will be applied for using a certain amount of a resource within a certain time cycle (e.g., within a month) and which, if used up, may entail a further fee for use of further resources.
Upon connecting to the wireless communications network, the customer account is authorized and authenticated, and the network allows a voice or data call to proceed. The network monitors the customer's usage time or data and decrements from the customer's account. If the account becomes depleted or reaches the billing cycle limits, the system can either prompt the customer to purchase more time or data, or the system can terminate the call. In a postpaid plan, typically the system does not provide any notification that the customer's usage has gone over account limits. Typically, a premium charge is associated with the overage and the premium charge is added to the next pay cycle's bill.
Another prepaid and postpaid plan option, however, enables the customer to budget an amount of airtime that will be used during a certain period of time, and insures that the budget will not be exceeded unless the customer desires more airtime. A similar plan may be offered for data communications, e.g. with a set limit on the amount of data. The wireless service provider likes this type of service, because the carrier receives payment in advance and need not run the risk that the customer will default on a bill, and also brings great value in terms of revenue to the service provider even with fixed resource options. Since data communication may be terminated without notice, or price for usage of data communication may increase when the prepaid or postpaid account depletes, the customers want to be notified in advance of reaching the data plan limit.
In another aspect, since most recent packet data communication users are young users, parents of the young users would like to keep track of and control usage of packet data communications of their children. As a way to control usage of data communication by their children, the parents need to be notified in advance of reaching the data plan limit or a pre-set usage limit.
To address these needs for people to receive notifications of reaching a data plan limit or a pre-set usage limit, some wireless communication service providers provide notifications of reaching the data plan limit to the customers. The wireless communication service providers, however, do not provide advance notice of reaching a data plan limit since the amount of use of data plan limit is checked only after the end of each data communication session or each billing cycle. In addition, the wireless communication service providers take an initiative in sending the notification upon reaching the limit, but the customer is unaware of other account options that could minimize the customer's cost for the over-the-limit data usage (also known as “overage”).
Further, the FCC announced in October, 2010 that they are beginning the process to force service providers to let customers know when monthly minutes for phone services are about to be exceeded before the monthly billing cycle is complete and the customer's bill is sent.
Hence, a need exists for a method and a system for providing the mobile station customer with real time advance notice of reaching a data plan threshold and at the same time providing other data plan options to minimize the customer's overage costs.
Another need exists for a method and a system for providing advance notice of reaching a data plan threshold to a mobile station customer which allows the customer to change the account limitations at which the notification is sent to the customer.